Title: Siege and Storm
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Type: Fiction
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Publisher: Square Fish
Date published: June 4, 2013
Format: Paperback
Page Count: 496
Source: Library
Summary: Darkness never dies.
Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.
The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.
The world and magic becomes more complex than in the first book, and the plot also thickens!
Firstly, I would like to state that I am aware that this is the middle book in a trilogy, and that these books tend to sound a little off, or feel slower, as they set up the final climax before the end of the series. And I also know that suck books must be difficult to write.
And now that that is out of the way, I would like to say that I did enjoy this book overall, although not as much as the first book. One of the reasons for this is, you guessed it, the slow pacing of the first half of the book. There were things happening during the first half of the novel, but I still felt a little bored despite this. I’m not sure why that was, except that I felt like the book wasn’t giving me something that I needed (even though I couldn’t point out what it was that was missing). It could have to do with how the end of the first book, Shadow and Bone, left me kind of needing something to begin with.
One thing this mysterious need of mine could be is more romance. I have been missing that within the books I’ve been reading lately, and this could then have carried over into my readings of Shadow and Bone as well as Siege and Storm.
That aside, however, the other reason why I did not enjoy this book as much as the first one is because of the main character. She was mildly frustrating in the first book, but became increasingly more so within the second. So as not to spoil anything from within Siege and Storm, I’ll just say that some of her decisions, and the way she handled certain things, made me very angry at times.
What I did really like about this book was the overall plot, the introduction of new and interesting characters, and the magic and world overall. I am very very in love with Ravka and its surrounding countries, and I am very happy that I have one more book left from this series, as well as Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom which are still set in this world, because I am not ready to say goodbye yet. I’m really hoping that Bardugo’s next series also takes place in this world!
I like that in this book, I was able to learn more about the overall world, other than Ravka, geographically as well as culturally. The new characters which were introduced are also very interesting and dynamic! And I cannot wait to read more about them, as well as the main cast, in the third book.
I find that the dialogue didn’t bother me as much as it did in the first book, also, which may be because I either got used to it, or this book actually contained less present-time colloquial speech. In addition, I also really liked that I was unable to predict the ending, which is always a bonus for me!
Overall a very fun read, and Bardugo’s imagination continues to impress!
About the Author
Leigh Bardugo is the #1 New York Times bestselling and USA Today bestselling author of Six of Crows and the Grisha Trilogy (Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising). She was born in Jerusalem, grew up in Los Angeles, graduated from Yale University, and has worked in advertising, journalism, and most recently, makeup and special effects. These days, she lives and writes in Hollywood where she can occasionally be heard singing with her band.
You can visit her online at http://www.leighbardugo.com or follow her on Twitter (@LBardugo), Instagram (@lbardugo), or Tumblr (http://lbardugo.tumblr.com)
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[…] So I stayed up until 2 A.M. and finished it…and it was pretty satisfying! I didn’t sleep too well that night, and whether that’s because I was nervous about my interview, or because of the adrenaline still rushing through me because of Siege and Storm (or both), I don’t know. But it was still worth it! (I also reviewed this book just a few minutes ago, and you can read my review here.) […]
I loved this series. They are so much fun and the author takes some great chances that played out well. I haven’t read her new duology yet but I will get to that one soon!
Rebecca @ The Portsmouth Review
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Thanks so much for your comment!
And yes, she definitely did take some great chances.
Also, I’ve heard that the duology is even better! So I hope to get to those soon. I’ve put the box set on my Christmas wishlist hahaha
It’s not “fair,” but it is true that other books we have read, especially recently, affect how we react to the current book we are reading. It does make sense though because part of a book’s meaning is dependent on the experiences the reader brings to the book.
Thank you for your comment! 🙂
And yes, I completely agree. I also find that I am enjoying the series more now that I’ve acknowledged that my experience with it may have been affected by other books, or other outside influences. 🙂
Got to read this series!
Ok, I KNOW I’ve probably asked you this before, but where did you get the dog heads? I’m thinking of making my own star rating system separate from the plain ol’ typical stars, but I don’t know where to go and don’t want to use someone else’s graphic by accident, you know? So inept when it comes to graphics!
Yes you dooo!
And an artist made them for me 🙂 haha
But you can go on this site and use anything on there as long as you credit the artist/the site!
http://www.freepik.com/index.php?goto=2&searchform=1&k=vector
[…] already stated my thoughts on those aspects of the trilogy in my reviews of Shadow and Bone and Siege and Storm. So as to not be repetitive, this review will in fact be a mini review since I will be focusing […]
[…] You can read my raving review for this book here! […]